Liturgy Pacific is the on-line presence of Richard Geoffrey Leggett, Rector of Saint Faith's Anglican Church in Vancouver and Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Studies at Vancouver School of Theology. Here you will find sermons, comments on current Anglican and Lutheran affairs and reflections on the need for progressive orthodox Christians to re-claim our place on the theological stage.

The Proclamation of
the Word

The First Reading:Exodus
20.1-17

A reading from Exodus.

20.1 Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; 3 you shall have no
other gods before me.

4 You shall not make for
yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or
that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or
worship them; for I the Lord your
God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the
third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but
showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and
keep my commandments.

7 You shall not make
wrongful use of the name of the Lord
your God, for the Lord will not
acquit anyone who misuses his name.

8 Remember the sabbath
day, and keep it holy. 9 Six
days you shall labour and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath
to the Lord your God; you shall
not do any work — you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave,
your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and
consecrated it.

12 Honour your father and
your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 You shall not murder.

14 You shall not commit
adultery.

15 You shall not steal.

16 You shall not bear
false witness against your neighbour.

17 You shall not covet
your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or
female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the church.

Thanks be to God.

The Psalm:Psalm 19

Psalm 19 from Songs for the Holy One

Refrain (sung twice):The
heavens are telling the Holy One’s glory.

The heavens are
telling the Holy One’s glory;

heaven’s arches proclaim God’s handiwork.

Day to day pours
forth speech,

night to night declares knowledge.

There is no
speech, there are no words;

no sound can be heard.

Their call goes
out to all the world,

to the ends of the earth their message.

Refrain:The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.

In the heavens God
pitched a tent for the sun,

which comes forth as a bridegroom from his wedding
canopy,

like a strong man running his course.

From the uttermost
edge of the heavens it goes

and runs about the
end of them again;

nothing is hid from its burning heat.

Refrain:The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.

The Holy One’s
teaching is perfect,

restoring my soul.

God’s decrees are sure, making wise the simple.

The Holy One’s
precepts are right,

rejoicing my
heart.

God’s commandments are pure,

giving light to my eyes.

Refrain:The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.

Reverence for God
is clean,

enduring for ever.

The Holy One’s judgements are true,

altogether just.

More to be desired
are they than gold,

more than much fine gold,

sweeter far than honey in the comb.

By them is your
servant warned,

for in keeping them there is great reward.

Refrain:The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.

Who can discern
unwitting sins?

O cleanse me from my secret faults.

Above all, keep
your servant from arrogant sins;

let them not control me.

Then shall I be
whole and sound,

and innocent of grave offense.

May the words of
my mouth

and the
meditations of my heart

be always acceptable in your sight,

O God, my strength and my redeemer.

Refrain:The heavens are telling the Holy
One’s glory.

The Second Reading:1 Corinthians 1.18-25

A reading from
Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.

1.18 For the message
about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God.

19 For it is written, “I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I
will thwart.”

20 Where is the one who
is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the
world? 21 For since, in the
wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through
the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks
desire wisdom, 23 but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are
the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
25 For God’s foolishness is
wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Hear what the
Spirit is saying to the Church.

Thanks be to God.

Hymn before the Gospel

‘Tree of Life and
Awesome Mystery’Common Praise #179 v. 3

The Gospel:John
2.13-22

The Lord be with
you.

And also with you.

The Holy Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

2.13 The Passover of the
Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found people
selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their
tables. 15 Making a whip of
cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money
changers and overturned their tables. 16 He told those who were
selling the doves, “Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s
house a marketplace!” 17 His
disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume
me.” 18 The [Jews who did not
believe in him] then said to him, “What
sign can you show us for doing this?” 19
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up.” 20 [They] then said,
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you
raise it up in three days?” 21
But he was speaking of the temple of his body. 22 After he was raised from the
dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the
scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

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About Me

Richard is a presbyter of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster with a number of responsibilities. He is Rector of Saint Faith's Anglican Church in Vancouver. Richard is also the Principal Consultant for Liturgy Pacific, a worship consultancy providing educational seminars and resources for congregational life and ministry. After 23 years as a member of the faculty of Vancouver School of Theology, Dr Leggett became Professor Emeritus of Liturgical Studies in 2010. Since 1989 Dr Leggett has served on various national committees of the Anglican and Evangelical Lutheran churches in Canada and is a regular participant in the work of the International Anglican Liturgical Consultation. From 2010 to 2016 he was a Member of the Liturgy Task Force of the Anglican Church of Canada.